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Over the years, Portland has played petri dish to a number of musical cultures: garage rock, doom metal, shoegaze.
But what’s the Portland sound, wonders indie artist Dakota Theim.
“People have told me I have a ‘Portland’ sound,” Theim said over coffee recently near his home in the Hollywood neighborhood. “And it’s funny because when I think about the bands in town, it’s all punk and metal and country and folk—that kind of thing. Honestly, sometimes I feel like an outcast here because I’m doing this nod-to-the-past thing or whatever. Sometimes I don’t feel like I fit in with the scene here at all.”
Whether he fits in is debatable. It’s harder to dispute that Theim’s music—bright, inventive, uplifting—is more than just a blast from the past. His third full-length album, Trail Ninety, due out in June, is lush, fun and inventive—10 urgent meditations on love, loss and loneliness.
The album title refers to the Honda Trail 90 motorcycle Theim recently rebuilt, a relic from his youth. Like the bike, the album is the ultimate DIY project, with Theim handling the lion’s share of instrumentation and recording duties. Sure, the past is there. “Another Kind of Love” takes you back to the Bee Gees and Todd Rundgren. In “Wild Magnolias,” you hear the psychedelic Beatles in their experimental glory. But there’s a sweet spot Theim ably finds between extremes. Old and new. Simple and complex. Familiar and confounding.
“I know tons of musicians who are way better than me,” says the 30-year-old Theim (sounds like theme). “But they couldn’t write a song to save their life.”
Born at the tail end of the millennial generation, Theim was drawn to music early on as a kid in the suburbs south of Portland. He and his older sister took piano lessons, though he says he was always more serious about it. One year, when she received a guitar as a Christmas present, he admits he “basically stole it.”
He picked up the drums as a student at Sherwood High School then started writing songs of his own. Over the past half decade, he’s assembled a regular band consisting of guitarist and main collaborator Ben Bilotti, bassist Alex Werner, drummer Jack Stringer, and keyboardist Joseph Freeman. Playing as Dakota Theim, they’ve graced Portland’s premier venues for independent artists: the Hawthorne Theatre, McMenamins Mission Theater, Holocene and Mississippi Studios, the latter of which has been a home base of sorts for the band, Theim says.
Over the next three months, Theim will roll out music videos for three singles from Trail Ninety. First up, on Friday, he’ll release “Patiently Waiting,” an ode to longing for—what else?—true love.
Theim’s music videos are notable for their professional polish. To many independent songwriters, music videos are something of an afterthought. The cost to make a good one can be prohibitive, and film production, many learn too late, is a complex art form in its own right.
Theim is, in fact, a veteran of the film industry. Since graduating from the University of Oregon 2019, he’s worked in various behind-the-scenes roles, including set design and on-set playback technician. Along the way, he’s acquired crucial know-how and personal connections.
“The song comes first, so the video doesn’t need a super-strong narrative or to be super literal with the lyrics,” he says. “It doesn’t need to tell a story. It’s just a visual complement to the song. And I think that allows for more creativity. If it’s too literal, you can get trapped in a box. And I want it to be more abstract.”
For now, Theim is focused on his upcoming album and possibly a few regional tours. He’s in the process of purchasing his first home. With roots now firmly in place, Theim says he’s content with Hollywood, Portland, if not L.A.
Though unsure how he fits with the local music scene, earlier this year, Theim repped Rip City like no one before. While traveling in Asia he became the first musician to perform at the Portland-themed PDX Taproom in Shibuya, Tokyo. The 15-seat American-style pub opened in 2015, but due to its small size and heavy Portland-based concept, organizing live entertainment there has proven difficult, according to owner Miyuki Hiramatsu.
But on the first business day of the new year, Theim brought his relaxed style to a warm and receptive crowd.
“I remember the show well,” Hiramatsu tells WW via email. “Dakota’s visit gave us a great opportunity to finally host a live performance, and it turned out to be a really special night for everyone.”
